Battery Switch Sensor

Abstract

The invention relates to a battery switch for use in a multi-battery vehicle to selectively connect or isolate batteries from each other. It includes a detector to monitor the voltage of at least a first battery to detect consistently present transient voltages and on detection of such voltages to connect or maintain connected the battery to at least a second battery. The detector monitors the continuance of transient voltages and additionally monitors the voltage of at least the first and second battery, and isolates the batteries from each other where the voltage of either battery falls below a specified voltage despite the detection of transient voltages at the first battery. The invention also relates to a method of initiating the interconnection or disconnection of at least two batteries on a single vehicle, and to a method of detecting the existence of a charging supply on a supply line to an open battery isolating switch.

1 . A battery switch for use in a multi-battery vehicle to selectively connect or isolate batteries from each other and including a detector monitoring the voltage of at least a first battery to detect consistently present transient voltages and on detection of such voltages to connect or maintain connected the at least one battery to at least a second battery, the detector monitoring the continuance of transient voltages and additionally monitoring the voltage of at least the first battery and at least the second battery, and isolating the batteries from each other where the voltage of either battery falls below a specified voltage despite the detection of transient voltages at the first battery. 
   
   
       2 . A battery switch as claimed in  claim 1  wherein a battery charging supply providing consistently present transient voltages is connected to at least one battery. 
   
   
       3 . A battery switch as claimed in  claim 1  wherein battery charging supplies providing consistently present transient voltages are separately connected to the first and the second battery. 
   
   
       4 . A battery switch as claimed in  claim 1  wherein battery charging supplies providing repetitive transient voltages are separately connected to the first and the second battery and one of the battery charging supplies is provided from a vehicle source while the other is from a remotely powered source. 
   
   
       5 . A battery switch as claimed in  claim 1  wherein the transient voltages are detected by an AC amplifier in combination with a band pass filter. 
   
   
       6  A battery switch as claimed in  claim 5  wherein the band pass filter accepts components from 20 Hz to 40 KHz 
   
   
       7 . A method of initiating the interconnection or disconnection of at least two batteries on a single vehicle by monitoring the voltage of each battery, monitoring the existence of consistently present transient voltages at each battery and connecting batteries to each other when transient voltages are present on at least one battery and the batteries are both above a specified voltage, disconnecting the batteries from each other if the voltage falls below a second lesser specified voltage regardless of the presence or absence of transient voltages. 
   
   
       8 . A method of initiating the interconnection or disconnection of at least two batteries on a single vehicle as claimed in  claim 7  wherein the transient voltages are the fuel injector solenoid pulses of an alternator driving engine. 
   
   
       9 . A method of initiating the interconnection or disconnection of at least two batteries on a single vehicle as claimed in  claim 7  wherein the transient voltages include at least slip ring hash from an alternator driving engine. 
   
   
       10 . A method of initiating the interconnection or disconnection of at least two batteries on a single vehicle as claimed in  claim 7  wherein the transient voltages include at least ignition noise from an alternator driving engine. 
   
   
       11 . A method of initiating the interconnection or disconnection of at least two batteries on a single vehicle as claimed in  claim 7  wherein the transient voltages are mains borne transients in a mains battery charger. 
   
   
       12 . A method of detecting the existence of a charging supply on a supply line to an open battery isolating switch by:
 measuring artifacts on the supply line,   detecting transient artifacts consistent with the existence of a charging supply on the supply line,   activating a switch closure device if the supply line is above a specified voltage and,   opening a closed battery isolating switch if the supply line voltage decreases below a second lesser specified voltage regardless of the presence of transient artifacts on the supply line.